Futurity » Universities » University at Buffalohttp://www.futurity.org
Research news from top universities.Tue, 31 Mar 2015 19:00:47 +0000en-UShourly1What comfort food reveals about our pasthttp://www.futurity.org/comfort-food-relationship-887942/
http://www.futurity.org/comfort-food-relationship-887942/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 18:01:46 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=887942No matter what meal strikes you as comfort food, you likely love the dish based on a good relationship with … Continued

No matter what meal strikes you as comfort food, you likely love the dish based on a good relationship with the person you remember first preparing it.

The findings have implications for better understanding how social factors influence our food preferences and eating behavior.

“Comfort foods are often the foods that our caregivers gave us when we were children. As long we have positive association with the person who made that food then there’s a good chance that you will be drawn to that food during times of rejection or isolation,” says psychologist Shira Gabriel of the University at Buffalo.

“It can be understood as straight-up classical conditioning.”

Previous research has shown that comfort food can reduce feelings of rejection and isolation. This new study, published in the journal Appetite, suggests why certain foods are attractive when we are feeling down.

“Because comfort food has a social function,” she says, “it is especially appealing to us when we are feeling lonely or rejected. The current study helps us understand why we might be eating comfort foods even when we’re dieting or not particularly hungry,” she says.

For some of the study participants, comfort food was a healthy food choice, for others, it was starchy and fatty.

“For a lot of people it is the food they grew up eating,” says Gabriel.

“In a previous study, we gave all of the participants chicken noodle soup,” says Gabriel. “But only those who had a social connection to that soup identified it as a comfort food and felt socially accepted after eating it.”

This research gives insight into a unique method by which people can feel socially connected and safe—through eating comfort foods. Because a threatened sense of belonging is related to mental and physical health risks, the researchers say it’s important to learn how that vulnerability can be managed.

However, this method of filling social needs is not without risks. As Gabriel says, “Although comfort food will never break your heart, it might destroy your diet.”

]]>http://www.futurity.org/comfort-food-relationship-887942/feed/0People ‘grow to trust’ as they get olderhttp://www.futurity.org/aging-trust-older-880822/
http://www.futurity.org/aging-trust-older-880822/#commentsMon, 23 Mar 2015 15:19:21 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=880822Contrary to some stereotypes, getting older doesn’t necessarily make people cynical and suspicious. Instead, trust tends to increase as people … Continued

Contrary to some stereotypes, getting older doesn’t necessarily make people cynical and suspicious. Instead, trust tends to increase as people age, a development that can be good for well-being.

“When we think of old age, we often think of decline and loss,” says study coauthor Claudia Haase, an assistant professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy.

“But a growing body of research shows that some things actually get better as we age,” Haase says. “Our new findings show that trust increases as people get older and, moreover, that people who trust more are also more likely to experience increases in happiness over time.”

‘Growing to trust’

In the first study, the researchers examined the association between age and trust at multiple points in history, using a sample of 197,888 individuals from 83 countries. The results suggested a positive association between age and trust, one that has existed for at least the past 30 years with little change over time.

“This suggests that it’s not simply about people being born at certain times,” says study coauthor Michael Poulin, associate professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo.

The second study followed 1,230 people in the US over time and found that these individuals became more trusting as they aged.

“For millennials, generation X, and baby boomers alike, levels of trust increase as people get older,” says Haase, who directs Northwestern’s Life-Span Development Lab. “People really seem to be ‘growing to trust’ as they travel through their adult years.”

Giving back

One explanation for age-related increases in trust is that since older adults are increasingly motivated to give back to others, they believe them to be good and trustworthy, Poulin says.

“We know that older people are more likely to look at the bright side of things,” Haase adds. “As we age, we may be more likely to see the best in other people and forgive the little letdowns that got us so wary when we were younger.”

Though trust can have negative consequences, especially among older adults at risk of falling for scams and fraud, the studies found no evidence that those negative consequences erode the benefits of trust.

“Both studies found a positive association between trust and well-being that was consistent across the life span, suggesting that trust is not a liability in old age,” Poulin says.

“Our findings suggest that trust may be an important resource for successful development across the life span,” Haase adds.

]]>http://www.futurity.org/aging-trust-older-880822/feed/1To stop smoking, start meds 4 weeks before ‘quit day’http://www.futurity.org/smoking-cessation-medication-870952/
http://www.futurity.org/smoking-cessation-medication-870952/#commentsMon, 09 Mar 2015 15:19:23 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=870952Smokers who take an antismoking medication for several weeks before trying to quit may find it easier and more successful … Continued

Smokers who take an antismoking medication for several weeks before trying to quit may find it easier and more successful long-term, a new study suggests.

After using some of the most effective antismoking treatments available, about 75 percent of former smokers are smoking again within a year after quitting.

Tobacco use claims more than 480,000 lives annually; that’s about one in five deaths each year. Additionally, more than 16 million Americans suffer from a disease caused by smoking, according to a 2014 report from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Additional spending aimed at searching for a possible new treatment is not the only answer—and perhaps not even the best way to improve those statistics, says Larry Hawk, a psychologist at the University at Buffalo.

There’s no magic bullet, he says, but “we can make a lot of gains by paying more attention to making the treatments we already have work better.”

Bupropion, originally developed and tested as an antidepressant, is also sold under the brand name Zyban as one of several evidence-based medications available to help people quit smoking.

Findings of the new study, published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, suggest the efficacy of this already proven medication can be improved by changing how it has been traditionally prescribed.

The usual course begins with patients starting the medication one week prior to quitting. Researchers extended that period to four weeks, and divided 95 subjects who smoked at least 15 cigarettes a day into a group who took the standard dosing for one-week before quitting and another group who took bupropion for four weeks before quitting.

Cravings and withdrawal

The idea of giving quit-smoking medication for longer before trying to quit is based in both clinical observations and behavioral theory. Anecdotal reports that people taking bupropion for reasons other than smoking cessation claimed they were giving up their cigarettes without trying to quit.

This fits with animal research and learning theories that suggest blocking the positive effects of smoking—without increasing craving and withdrawal—should allow smokers to cut down on their smoking without trying. And that should translate into more success with quitting.

No one knows exactly how long that process takes, but prior work on nicotine replacement therapy and a similar study with the smoking medication varenicline (Chantix) used a similar four-week time frame.

Four weeks also balanced the need to provide enough time before quitting for the changes in smoking and reinforcement to occur without raising concerns that smokers would find the delay before quitting to be too long.

One group of received three weeks of a placebo; the other group received three weeks of bupropion; and everyone received bupropion after that. All of the subjects also received state-of-the-art smoking cessation counseling.

“One of the things I love about this type of study is that everybody gets a good treatment. Our control group is getting standard effective therapy. One of the reasons that’s important to me is people often come in with several failed attempts to quit. These treatments give them a sense that this time they’ll be more successful—before they get to their quit day,” Hawk says.

Extending the use of bupropion prior to quitting reduced smoking during that period without increasing craving or withdrawal; in fact, craving tended to decrease more in the extended group. Furthermore, 53 percent of subjects in the extended group remained smoke-free 30 days after quitting, compared to 31 percent in the standard treatment group.

“These studies are exciting because they suggest that we might be able to nearly double success rates using the same medications we already have. There’s the potential to help a lot of people live longer, healthier lives,” Hawk says.

“Without any new smoking cessation drugs close to approval, this appears to be a promising strategy to enhance the effectiveness of existing medications, such as bupropion, which are proven to aid in quitting smoking,” says coauthor Martin Mahoney, professor of oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

“Stopping smoking represents the most important lifestyle change that a smoker can make and it is important to remember that it is never too late to quit.”

]]>http://www.futurity.org/smoking-cessation-medication-870952/feed/1Online ‘class’ supports women with alcoholic partnershttp://www.futurity.org/women-alcoholic-partner-869512/
http://www.futurity.org/women-alcoholic-partner-869512/#commentsFri, 06 Mar 2015 12:24:45 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=869512An online, interactive support program could help women who face barriers to seeking help coping with an alcoholic partner. Approximately 7.7 … Continued

An online, interactive support program could help women who face barriers to seeking help coping with an alcoholic partner.

Approximately 7.7 million US adults are currently married to or living with a partner with an alcohol use disorder. The burden of living with an alcoholic partner can cause considerable psychological distress, says study author Robert G. Rychtarik, but many spouses do not or cannot seek help.

“Specialized professional help for spouses of alcoholics is not widely available and insurance coverage can be limited,” says Rychtarik, senior research scientist at the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

“Fear of retribution, family turmoil, stigmatization, and financial, time, and geographical constraints also can be barriers.”

Coping skills

RIA researchers developed a self-paced, internet-administered coping skills training program to determine if it could be an effective way to help reduce distress in this frequently underserved population.

Nearly 100 women living with an alcoholic partner tested the program, which included narrated instruction, animated presentations, and video dramatizations of the most effective ways to deal with problems arising from a partner’s drinking. Certified counselors (“coaches”) were available to chat by computer or telephone.

“The program’s goals are to help women focus on their own needs, reduce stress, and talk to their partners in a more effective way,” Rychtarik says. “The majority of the participants showed significantly higher levels of coping skills and experienced decreased depression and anger compared to those who didn’t take part in the program.”

The program is not yet available to the public. RIA researchers are seeking additional funding to evaluate it on a larger scale, and are determining the best delivery method—through social service agencies, treatment programs, or health care providers, or as a standalone for women to access themselves.

People in need of immediate assistance in coping with an alcoholic partner can find help by contacting Al-Anon, SAMHSA, or, in New York State, the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services or NYS HOPEline, 1-877-846-7369.

]]>http://www.futurity.org/women-alcoholic-partner-869512/feed/0Newton’s laws predict how chimps cluster and movehttp://www.futurity.org/newtons-laws-chimpanzees-868992/
http://www.futurity.org/newtons-laws-chimpanzees-868992/#commentsThu, 05 Mar 2015 16:14:46 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=868992To model how chimpanzees gather and travel through the shrinking terrain they share with other members of their species, scientists turned … Continued

To model how chimpanzees gather and travel through the shrinking terrain they share with other members of their species, scientists turned to Newton’s Laws of Motion.

They created a computer model based on equations normally used to describe the movement of atoms and molecules in a confined space.

“We thought it would be interesting to see if we could use the kind of modeling we use for physics to model the behavior of animals,” says University at Buffalo physics professor Surajit Sen. “We were pleasantly surprised that it works.

“Our model shows how competition for an important resource—food—affects how chimpanzees spread out in a given area.”

The simulation successfully replicated certain chimpanzee behaviors that researchers have witnessed in the wild. Sen says the model could be expanded to predict how a shrinking habitat might affect chimp populations.

He conducted the research with Matthew Westley, a physics PhD candidate, and Anindya Sinha, a primate behavior expert who serves as a professor and dean at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore and as a senior scientist at the Nature Conservation Foundation in Mysore, both in India.

Chimps as particles

As Westley explains, the modeling technique the team used was fairly simple.

“We modeled each chimp as a particle that feels attraction or repulsion to other objects in the vicinity,” he says. “We decided that all chimps would be attracted to food and repulsed by other chimps, who compete for food.”

The key equation the simulation employed was Newton’s Second Law of Motion, which states that Acceleration = Force/Mass.

Chimps were the masses in the equation, while the forces consisted of attraction to food and repulsion from other chimps. By assigning values to each force and determining the distance at which the forces would begin to affect the chimps, the team was able to simulate the direction and speed at which animals would move in relationship to food and to each other.

As seen in nature

“Once the simulation had run for some time and reached a state of equilibrium, we saw chimps clustering into separate groups within the territory, just as they do in nature,” he adds. “We also saw some members of each group migrating to join other groups, which is a common behavior displayed by females in this male-bonded society.”

The researchers also had success in expanding their basic model to mimic the observed characteristics of a group of chimpanzees in Guinea, western Africa, who had limited access to food.

To do so, the team made changes that included reducing the number of food sources available and making male and female chimps attracted to one another.

In equilibrium, this expanded simulation showed many male chimps leaving their home group to join another group or wander alone. Such behavior is somewhat unusual for males, who tend to stay in their native groups, but it’s exactly what one primate researcher saw while studying the chimps in Guinea for more than 20 years.

“It’s a mental block for us to think living creatures can be treated as particles, but in reality, many decisions that animals make are based on basic attractions and repulsions: attraction to food and other resources, and repulsion from danger,” Sen says.

“I wouldn’t want to philosophize about it beyond that; it’s pure coincidence that the model works.”

]]>http://www.futurity.org/newtons-laws-chimpanzees-868992/feed/0Men of all ages tend to be more narcissistichttp://www.futurity.org/men-gender-narcissism-868772/
http://www.futurity.org/men-gender-narcissism-868772/#commentsThu, 05 Mar 2015 16:12:31 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=868772On average, men are more narcissistic than women, report researchers, who say the findings apply across multiple generations and regardless … Continued

On average, men are more narcissistic than women, report researchers, who say the findings apply across multiple generations and regardless of age.

Forthcoming in the journal Psychological Bulletin, the study compiles 31 years of narcissism research, including over 475,000 participants.

“Narcissism is associated with various interpersonal dysfunctions, including an inability to maintain healthy long-term relationships, unethical behavior, and aggression,” says lead author Emily Grijalva, assistant professor of organization and human resources in the University at Buffalo School of Management.

“At the same time, narcissism is shown to boost self-esteem, emotional stability, and the tendency to emerge as a leader,” she says. “By examining gender differences in narcissism, we may be able to explain gender disparities in these important outcomes.”

The researchers examined more than 355 journal articles, dissertations, manuscripts, and technical manuals, and studied gender differences in the three aspects of narcissism: leadership/authority, grandiose/exhibitionism, and entitlement.

They found the widest gap in entitlement, suggesting that men are more likely than women to exploit others and feel entitled to certain privileges.

The second largest difference was in leadership/authority. “Compared with women, men exhibit more assertiveness and desire for power,” Grijalva says. “But there was no difference in the exhibitionism aspect, meaning both genders are equally likely to display vanity or self-absorption.”

Narcissism and stereotypes

In addition, the study looked at data from college students between 1990 and 2013, and found no evidence that either gender has become more narcissistic over time.

Research has shown that personality differences, like narcissism, can arise from gender stereotypes and expectations that have been ingrained over time. The authors speculate that the persistent lack of women in senior leadership roles may partially stem from the disparity between stereotypes of femininity and leadership.

“Individuals tend to observe and learn gender roles from a young age, and may face backlash for deviating from society’s expectations,” Grijalva says.

“In particular, women often receive harsh criticism for being aggressive or authoritative, which creates pressure for women, more so than for men, to suppress displays of narcissistic behavior.”

Future research could further investigate the social, cultural, or biological factors that contribute to these gender differences.

Coauthors of the study contributed from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Purdue University; Texas A&M University; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; University of California, Davis; and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

]]>http://www.futurity.org/men-gender-narcissism-868772/feed/3Plant’s tiny genome is packed full of geneshttp://www.futurity.org/utricularia-gibba-bladderwort-862092/
http://www.futurity.org/utricularia-gibba-bladderwort-862092/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 19:57:16 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=862092Humped bladderwort boasts more genes than several other plant species, like grape, coffee, and papaya, despite having a much smaller … Continued

Humped bladderwort boasts more genes than several other plant species, like grape, coffee, and papaya, despite having a much smaller genome.

Called Utricularia gibba by scientists, the bladderwort lives in an aquatic environment and has no recognizable roots. It has floating, thread-like branches, along with miniature traps that use vacuum pressure to capture prey.

The bladderwort’s incredibly compact architecture results from a history of “rampant” DNA deletion in which the plant added and then eliminated genetic material very quickly, says study leader Victor Albert, professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo.

“The story is that we can see that throughout its history, the bladderwort has habitually gained and shed oodles of DNA,” he says.

“With a shrunken genome,” he adds, “we might expect to see what I would call a minimal DNA complement: a plant that has relatively few genes—only the ones needed to make a simple plant. But that’s not what we see.”

In contrast to the minimalist plant theory, Albert and his colleagues find that U. gibba has more genes than some plants with larger genomes, including grape, as already noted, and Arabidopsis, a commonly studied flower.

A comparison with the grape genome shows U. gibba‘s genetic opulence clearly: the bladderwort genome, holding roughly 80 million base pairs of DNA, is six times smaller than the grape’s. And yet, the bladderwort is the species that has more genes: some 28,500 of them, compared to about 26,300 for the grape.

Keep what’s useful

U. gibba is particularly rich in genes that may facilitate carnivory—specifically, those that enable the plant to create enzymes similar to papain, which helps break down meat fibers. The bladderwort is also rich in genes linked to the biosynthesis of cell walls, an important task for aquatic species that must keep water at bay.

“When you have the kind of rampant DNA deletion that we see in the bladderwort, genes that are less important or redundant are easily lost,” Albert says. “The genes that remain—and their functions—are the ones that were able to withstand this deletion pressure, so the selective advantage of having these genes must be pretty high.

“Accordingly, we found a number of genetic enhancements, like the meat-dissolving enzymes, that make Utricularia distinct from other species.”

Much of the DNA the bladderwort deleted over time was noncoding “junk DNA” that contains no genes, Albert says.

Adding and deleting

To determine how the bladderwort evolved its current genetic structure, the team compared the plant to four related species. What they uncovered was a pattern of rapid DNA alteration.

As Albert explains, “When you look at the bladderwort’s history, it’s shedding genes all the time, but it’s also gaining them at an appreciable enough rate, permitting it to stay alive and produce appropriate adaptations for its unique environmental niche.”

In the realm of DNA gain, the study found that U. gibba has undergone three duplication events in which its entire genome was replicated, giving it redundant copies of every gene.

This fast-paced gene gain was balanced out by swift deletion. Evidence for this phenomenon comes from the fact that the plant has a tiny genome despite its history of genetic duplication.

In addition, the plant houses a high percentage of genes that don’t have close relatives within the genome, which suggests the plant quickly deleted redundant DNA acquired through duplication events.

The study builds on the work of Albert and other team members, who reported in the journal Nature in 2013 that the bladderwort’s genome was comprised almost entirely of useful, functional genes and their controlling elements, in contrast to species like humans, whose genomes are more than 90 percent “junk DNA.”

The study included partners from the University at Buffalo, the Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, the Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad (LANGEBIO) in Mexico, and the Instituto de Ecología in Mexico.

Proper training gives emergency first responders the tools they need to make better on-site decisions, reports a new study prompted by the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.

The researchers focused on understanding the motivation and decision-making process of first responders during the attacks, which killed 166 people and are often referred to as India’s 9/11.

“An officer in the police department, whether in the control room or in the field, makes many critical decisions during a situation like the Mumbai terrorist attacks,” says H. Raghav Rao, professor in the management science and systems department at the University at Buffalo.

“Each of these decisions is driven by a motivation, which is usually derived from knowledge of the situation at hand.”

Motivation and decisions

For the study, published in IIMB Management Review, Rao and colleagues analyzed surveys from 31 Mumbai Police officers who were involved in the immediate response to the terrorist attacks. They also conducted interviews with 15 middle- to high-ranking officers who directly assisted in the efforts to mitigate the effects of the attacks.

An analysis of the information gathered during the surveys and interviews resulted in several recommendations to prepare first responders for terrorist attacks:

Remove barriers to information sharing: When responders have timely access to important information in a crisis, they have increased motivation to take action.

Improve training: Improved training in how to deal with, assess the severity of, and quickly respond to crisis situations will lead emergency workers to more helpful actions and decisions.

Establish an optimistic work environment: Hopefulness improves the likelihood that responders will take positive steps to alleviate crisis situations.

Create a decision support system: Officers should be trained to pick up important information, make decisions from that information and be provided with the tools they need to communicate those decisions to the necessary personnel.

The authors also recommend a number of ways Mumbai Police can improve information sharing during such a crisis.

“Many callers to the Mumbai Police control room during the terrorist attacks didn’t know the street names in their immediate neighborhood,” Rao says. “A campaign to educate residents about these names would help first responders more effectively reach people in need in the future.”

The study also stresses the benefits of sending private closed-circuit television signals to police, broadcasting information across police zones, and sending official social media alerts to dispel rumors.

Officials also should implement a system of alert levels that define operating procedures under different terrorist threats.

Doctoral student Rajarshi Chakraborty and Manish Agarwal, associate professor of information systems and decision sciences at University of South Florida contributed to the study. The National Science Foundation provided funding.

]]>http://www.futurity.org/first-responders-terrorist-attacks-857852/feed/0Why buddies beat celebrities for diet advicehttp://www.futurity.org/wellness-program-friends-857842/
http://www.futurity.org/wellness-program-friends-857842/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 14:43:02 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=857842Results trump charisma when it comes to convincing friends to try a wellness program, according to a new study. This means … Continued

Results trump charisma when it comes to convincing friends to try a wellness program, according to a new study.

This means that if a friend finds success with a new diet or exercise program, there’s a good chance you’ll try it, too.

“People want to see that positive influence,” says Lora Cavuoto, assistant professor in the department of industrial and systems engineering in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“Understanding how social influence affects people’s participation in health programs can lead to better-designed wellness interventions.”

Countless diets and weight-loss programs exist to combat the high rate of obesity among Americans, but they do little good if people don’t adopt them.

Cavuoto’s research could help diet and exercise programs reach more people by advising marketers on which people to target as endorsers.

Simulating friend groups

The study simulated the behavior of fictional people created using combinations of physical attributes and personality traits, such as the ability to lose weight and a high or low body mass index. The model distributed traits based on national population averages.

Based on the simulations, people in social networks linked to someone who successfully lost weight or had a high body mass index produced the largest total weight loss among peers. The networks surrounding a person with a high number of friends—those who were more charismatic or popular—produced lower weight-loss totals.

Cavuoto’s results support the new approach many weight-loss programs have taken in attracting new participants: Celebrity endorsers with a large reach have taken a backseat to everyday people who benefit from a new diet or workout.

“Your ties and social contacts may have a bigger effect because you see them every day and you have that close connection,” says Cavuoto. “If they can be successful, then that’s your best way of getting information out that a program is good.”

]]>http://www.futurity.org/wellness-program-friends-857842/feed/0Breast cancer genes may be unique to African Americanshttp://www.futurity.org/breast-cancer-african-americans-852512/
http://www.futurity.org/breast-cancer-african-americans-852512/#commentsTue, 10 Feb 2015 18:20:29 +0000http://www.futurity.org/?p=852512African-American women from the same family who have breast cancer may share previously unknown DNA anomalies in addition to BRCA1, … Continued

African-American women from the same family who have breast cancer may share previously unknown DNA anomalies in addition to BRCA1, BRCA2, new research shows.

“The discovery of these regions supports our hypothesis that there are still undiscovered breast cancer genes that may be unique to African Americans,” says Heather Ochs-Balcom, a genetic epidemiologist at the University at Buffalo.

“We can now focus on these specific chromosomes to learn if they house genetic mutations linked to breast cancer.

Undiscovered mutations

“We also need to determine whether those mutations are found in other racial groups or if they are unique to African Americans. If they are unique, it could explain why young African-American women have a higher risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer compared to other groups,” she says.

“Our study used linkage analysis, a powerful tool that helps to detect the chromosomal location of disease genes by examining genetic markers across the entire human genome. Our family-based gene hunt is similar to the groundbreaking study among women with European ancestry done in the early 1990s that led to the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, which greatly increase susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer.”

African-American women can also carry the BRCA mutations, but Ochs-Balcom suspects there may be additional, undiscovered mutations linked to breast cancer in this population.

“Family studies like this one have been difficult to conduct in the past,” Ochs-Balcom says, “in part because it’s difficult to get multiple family members to commit the time needed to participate. We found here that approaching the recruitment of African Americans by using a multi-pronged approach that included collaboration from our community partnerships greatly facilitated success.

Risk of early-onset cancers

African-American women have a higher incidence of pre-menopausal breast cancer and a higher breast cancer mortality rate than European Americans. They are also more likely to develop early-onset cancers that are aggressive and difficult to treat. Some of these may be caused by unknown genetic anomalies that if found, could lead to early screening, detection, and treatment.

Researchers examined the DNA of 106 African-American families not known to carry BRCA mutations tied to hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome. Participants included 179 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and 76 of their sisters who never had the disease.

“Perhaps the most important motivating factor in their decision to participate in our study,” says Ochs-Balcom, “was the potential to prevent suffering in their daughters and granddaughters.”

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Lina the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital are coauthors of the study, which received funding from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.